Road, rail and sea freight giant DFDS has ordered ten Sunswap Endurance transport refrigeration units (TRUs), which the clean tech company will manufacture in Leatherhead in Surrey.

The DFDS order follows the company’s successful trial of ten Endurance solar and battery TRUs in 2022, which demonstrated that DFDS could remove 895 tonnes of CO2 and save around 500,000 litres of diesel fuel over a ten-year unit lifetime, by using Endurance TRUs.

The trial also established that by switching to Sunswap Endurance, DFDS would save 71% of the operating costs compared to running a diesel refrigeration unit, amounting to a 13% saving in total cost of ownership.

Depending on conditions, the trailer-top mounted solar panels can typically provide 65 to 100% of the charge needed to operate the refrigeration unit, significantly reducing reliance on grid charging.

The clean tech start up said the order from DFDS marks the official commercial launch of Sunswap’s technology into the global cold-chain market.

Sunswap said the partnership comes at a crucial time, as the transport sector faces increasing regulatory pressure and growing consumer demand for more sustainable logistics.   

”By investing in low carbon technology DFDS is positioning itself at the forefront of more sustainable cold chain logistics, setting a new standard for the industry and paving the way for a cleaner, more environmentally responsible future in refrigerated transport,” the company added.

Matt O’Dell, DFDS managing director of Cold Chain, UK & Ireland, commented: “The Sunswap trailers provide a huge opportunity for us to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations and further strengthen our offering to customers.

“Our team has worked closely with Sunswap on this project and I’m very proud of all the hard work that has gone in to seeing the trailers arrive at our Peterborough depot ready for service.

“DFDS has ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We aim to achieve a 75% reduction in CO2e emissions intensity by 2030 and to be net zero by 2050, and so introducing the Sunswap trailers to our UK fleet is an exciting part of that.

“I believe it will be a shift away from legacy diesel technology for cold storage transport.”

Michael Lowe, Sunswap chief executive, added: “This is a defining moment for Sunswap and sustainable transport refrigeration.

“After five years of engineering innovation and extensive trials, seeing the first Sunswap units enter full-time service with DFDS marks the beginning of diesel-free cold chain operations at scale.

“DFDS has shown true industry leadership by being first to adopt this technology.”

“As we begin to fulfil subsequent orders from our production line in Leatherhead, we look forward to supporting major European retailers and logistics operators in decarbonising their cold-chain operations.”

Topics